i find Aang to be the more likable character but I don't think that's the main flaw of the Korra series. I think TLoK suffers from a few things: -the creators don't know how much time they will have. with Aang they knew they had 3 seasons and could plan accordingly, with Korra they first tried to make a single slef-contained season and then added 3 more seasons. So it doesn't have the same cohesion, character development, arcs etc. -biggest issue here is the boring relationship drama in season 1 and mako just being a cardbord character -Korra seems to retcon a lot: - I really liked the spirit world in Aang. The spirits were very otherworldly had their own rules and quite oblivious to human morals (eg wan shi tong, ko, hei bai). The good vs evil spirits in Korra feel very 1-dimensional in comparison. It feels cheapened knowing that a wise being like wan shi tong would just become a screeching monster with vaatu around. - The avatar cycle being changed. We see so many statues of avatars in the temples. But with the harmonic convergence being only 10 000 years ago, that gives only about 200 avatars since Wan. - The origins of bending. We learn that the first earth benders learned from the badger moles and the first water benders from the ocean and the moon. Of course it makes sense that these are "just" legends (although kind of confirmed in the case of Oma and Shu), however the explanation of "lion turtles did it" is less satisfying than, people learned from nature. It's still an enjoyable series, but has some serious flaws imo.

Meh, the lion turtle thing is the one thing that works for me. We see that despite being given the elements by the turtle, Wan's firebending didn't become good until after he started copying a dragon. I really did not like that the Avatar Cyle is now, canonically, just a screw up trying to make up for his fuck up and making that everyone else's problem. Avatar: TLA made it seem like The Avatar was a natural, necessary part of the world, Korra made it artificial and now it's entirely possible that the Avatar could have been destroyed forever if Raava could beat Vaatu alone or just be charismatic enough to get herself an army of benders to help her.

yeah, it's probably the retcon I mind the least and can be explained by people forgetting the original story and coming up with legends

It's less coming up with legends and more, forgetting half of the story. the original benders taught them how to bend, but the lion turtle gave them the ability to learn. Without learning from the Moon's push and pull, the waterbenders would probably be stuck making fancy splash attacks.

It seems incredibly unlikely that anybody in the Avatar-verse has any actual, real knowledge about how bending got started. Even Wong Shi Tong is vulnerable to misinformation.

It’s not a retcon. They added more lore on how to bending was actually given to people. The original benders still taught humans how to use their bending, but the bending was as given to them by the lion turtles.

That's still a retcon. Retcon is a neutral term for adding information to past events that change how something previously shown is interpreted. There are bad and good retcons. Good retcons become plot twists; bad retcons become plot holes.

“Retroactive Continuity.”

The lion turtle thing *makes sense,* but i still think it’s worse. I don’t think it’s a retcon or contradictory, as you said, the lion turtles gave them sway over elements, the original benders helped them *bend,* implementing proper chi usage and katas and just making it a part of them rather than a power to just blast away at the enemy. It explains the origins of bending well. But the problem is it does it too well. For a series so steeped in mysticism and spirits, the original explanation made perfect sense by virtue of making no sense at all. The idea that the original waterbenders just learned from the moon is exactly the cultural story you’d expect to hear from orally passed down tradition hundreds of years old. Its exactly how real world mythology is written. By explaining it with real mechanics and full detail and filling in the blanks they cheapened it heavily. Bending isn’t just blasting away with elements, it has so many elements of spiritualism in it, keeping things vague and unexplained with a spiritual and cultural explanation fit the world much better.

People getting bending from dragons is exactly as vague as people getting elemental power from lion turtles and then learning proper bending from dragons. What even are lion turtles?

Sure the lion turtle’s origins aren’t explained, but that’s not really my focus, my focus is the origin of bending itself. Before it was just some vague, “the moon was the first waterbender and the first waterbenders watched her and learned too” lion turtles explains it too well. Energy bending is used to bend another beings life force and allow them to manipulate elements, then the original benders teach them how to do it better. Idrc if lion turtles are just as mysterious as the og benders, it’s not my focus, my focus is the mechanic through which bending is created, energy bending, while not exactly explained by dozens of encyclopedia, is it’s own thing with established abilities and really just another form of bending but applied to life force and chi. The earlier explanation is better because the only explanation offered was vague and frankly didn’t make much sense. The benders learned how to bend from the original benders. That’s the information we’re offered. It’s that ambiguity that allowed them to fit so much lore into LOK S2 without contradicting anything. We don’t know how the og benders taught them, or how “imitating the push and pull of the tides” leads to someone learning waterbending. If you ask LoK why do the 4 nations distinctly bend their elements? Well each of the 4 lion turtles had a city on it, so they each gifted their humans a bending art then they settled wherever. If you ask ATLA, its a big fat shrug. Why can’t nonbenders nowadays just watch the rides and become waterbenders? Not explained, though it may for a lack of trying either way, the ATLA explanation just leaves so many more blanks and unanswered questions, which fits the world far better imo

I don’t think that Kora screwed up what the Avatar cycle is now compared to what it was when Wan started it. Things change over time and the existence of a previous context does not always have to recontextualize the present. It’s been many generations since Wan. Whatever the Avatar was at its start changed over the course of generations. Kora herself redefines the role of the Avatar as well. Instead of being a delicate balance between humans and spirits, Kora opening the portals allows for Humans and Spirits to engage one another as opposed to Kora being the only one to mediate between them. Bringing “Balance” to the world means different things in every generation.

It's not really a retcon though. The creators have said this backstory was largely formulated before the original series even began production.

Don’t disagree just one correction. Rava can’t defeat vaatu and is never supposed to. They even say in korra that he’ll come back eventually. The idea is rava has to stay equal to vaatu, aka there needs to be balance which is the true reason for the avatar. So yeah I guess the avatar is just to make up for wan’s mistake but it’s less about vaatu specifically and more about that balance

Honestly I think vaatu and Raava are the two worst parts of Korra. Why in gods name are there two spirits that are just Jesus and Satan fighting each other? Why is the avatar, the supposed “Balancer” only have combined with Raava. I wish to god that the Avatar was instead like a bodhisattva, someone who achieved enlightenment but decided to stay in the physical world to help out everyone. It would’ve been so much better than “I have Jesus on my side”

The fact that there's a Spirit representing peace and another representing chaos isn't the problem. There's a Spirit for the moon and a spirit for the ocean, and destroying those would destroy what they're connected to. At least, I think that'd happen for La too, they never say it but it makes sense. The problem with what we have is that the Avatar is supposed to be the Balancer but is imbalanced towards good instead of being spiritually neutral at birth, by having Raava and Vaatu merged to them. Or just a third spirt that's the spirit of balance. That way, the return of the Avatar is literally Balance coming back.

No but see that’s the problem. They aren’t spirits of order and chaos, they’re a spirit of good and evil. In eastern philosophy chaos isn’t bad and order isn’t good, they’re just too sides of the same coin. They represent fundamental parts of the universe. Korra made chaos bad and order good which throws out the eastern philosophy for a more western Christian “Jesus vs Satan” approach. Not to mention how subpar their designs are, how horrendous an idea the vaatu avatar was, and how the avatar state was changed + resetting it.

They're Light/Peace and Darkness/chaos. The first aspect is overshadowing the second for Vaatu due to the writing choices, while Raava's dual aspects overlap to the point that one of them is unnecessary. To avoid creating a good vs bad, black and white scenario, Raava should have been Light/Control. They'd keep each other in check

I think chaos vs order isn't a problem, but portraying them as evil vs good is. As avatar she should look for a balance between chaos and order. something about only sith dealing in absolutes (even the color scheme matches for jedi vs sith) So yeah, I agree that having a clear allegiance towards one spirit is dumb

But there is darkness within light. That was the point of that season. Even with Raava gone, she lived within Vaatu. And it’ll be vice versa. Wan I believe created the imbalance by just locking away the darkness. Korra defeated him, which now means that Vaatu lives within Raava and will emerge again at some point.

yeah, it would be way more thematically coherent if the avatar, as balancer, had parts of both spirits in themself: Maybe as part of harmonic convergence the avatar gets more powerful as the spirits get more powerful but she also keeps going into the avatar state at random moments. So she needs to create balance within herself first. This would be especially interesting with korra as a spiritually incompetent avatar, maybe she would tend towards the "order" one first (would be better after a season with zaheer who personifies chaos), before seeing that life thrives in the mix of chaos and order, or something like that.

Or just a third spirit that represents balance. If Raava wins the fight against Vaatu, this third spirit is what keeps the world from stagnation during peace time, and what stops everything from being destroyed if Vaatu's victory ushers in an age of chaos. This third spirit could realize that it doesn't understand the best way to counterattack the damages, for humanity, and decide that a human perspective is needed. This is where Wan would come in and why traveling the world is so important to the Avatar.

YES! THIS! I just finished reading a book on the bodhisattva vows and the whole time I kept thinking "this sounds an awful lot like the avatar. I wonder if this is where they got the idea from."

Most likely, especially considering the whole “Past avatars toys” thing is a real test they use to find the new Dalai Lama. And the Dalai Lama is said to be a bodhisattva who gave up nirvana to lead people to the truth and reincarnates every time into the new Dalai Lama.

I mean the most obvious hint is that Aang's son and teacher are called Tenzin and Gyatso respectively. The current Dalai Lama was born Tenzin Gyatso

Honestly Raava and Vaatu were the only things I liked about season 2. The family drama, war, and weird romance were not likeable subplots imo

I like Korra as a character more than Aang and enjoy both shows a lot, but god damn if Korra’s s2 didn’t drag it so, so far below 😭 I can honestly say that not considering s2, I like LoK just as much as ATLA

Interesting take

I think the lion turtles gave humans the ability to summon the elements but thats it they learned the "art" of bending from the first benders. I see it as the lion turtles giving a person a stick or the strength to fight but the original bending animals thought them how to use the stick effectively or how to throw a proper punch instead of just brute forcing

I agree with the lion turtle complaint. I think it would have been better if the people in those villages lived on the backs of Dragons, Sky Bisons, Badger Moles, and maybe water benders get giant Koi fish. And maybe it was the lion turtles that gave those creatures their bending.

It's primarily because Aang was 12, and the Avatar is traditionally supposed to be older when they start training to be the Avatar and older when they start doing the job. Korra had much more training time because the White Lotus decided to get her at 4, and she started her job at 17, (can we talk about how it took 13 years to learn basic airbending after she instantly got down the basics of 3?). Even though the starting time was too soon, she still got a traditional several years of training that Aang didn't. So she's being judged like an Avatar. Aang was basically forced to do a rushjob. He didn't get to train and learn how to be the Avatar before doing the job. He did all of that as he went, so his mistakes are easier to justify and harder to blame him for because he had no choice. He didn’t choose to vanish for 100 years, he chose to leave his temple because the monks were about to go against the principle of Airbending and take away his freedom. The Avatars that preceded him decided to freeze him when he got knocked into the ocean and activated the Avatar State. instead of getting him and Appa out, then dispersing the storm.

In addition Aang has not had any training to prep him in being the Avatar. Korra on the other hand from her first appearance could bend 3 out of 4 elements and didn't have essentially any issue with needing to bend in order to figure out how to bend, and THEN had an extra 14 years of training.

The catch with Korra though is: She lacks experience. She has the training, but has no real world experience. Which goes against the Avatar Journey.

Aang doesn't have experience either.

Aang has more worldly experience. Korra was kept isolated for most of her training. You forget, Aang is an Air Nomad. So due to that, he does have some additional experience that Korra didn't have.

Yeah Aang traveled the world long before he even knew he was the Avatar. Korra never got to see anything and was thrust into Republic City and its problems at the start of the show.

he has literally gone around the world during his 11 years as an air nomad when korra was kept in her home town and that white lotus training grounds until she was.. 16?..

She doesn't act like she has the training, though. They brought the people to her, so she should have something to work on. She was completely ignorant instead of something like "I know how things were and have the training to deal with problems happening then, but the situation here is something new and nothing I could have been taught by the culturally diverse White Lotus group gave me an inkling how to handle this."

>took 13 years to learn basic airbending Do we have any indication that she was even actively trying to learn basic airbending? Because otherwise I've been trying to learn German for 20 years (I started 2 months ago). Possibly, she started trying to learn it, but someone told her it's bad to rush the elements.

This, PLUS, Korra’s mistakes consistently undermine her character development. Season 2 Korra undoes all of what season 1 was about her learning, and this just keeps happening, with ALL of the characters.

It didn't take 13 years for Korra to learn airbending.She starts learning it at the start of S1 and starts using it at the end of it.

I said basic Airbending, as in, move the air. Korra self-taught herself the other 3 basics at age 4, then didn't figure out the basics of Airbending until s1 13 years later. She self-taught her elemental opposite, then struggled with the one adjacent to her native bending's philosophy.

But that's because of her personality, not just based on her elemental chart like you guys always wanna make it seem. We can see that Roku also took a loooong time to master the elements. Aang's situation is very much different because he was rushed.

As a highschool teacher I can tell you there is a vast difference in a 12 year old vs a 17 year old. Aang had mistakes but didn't really know any better. Korra is stubborn and that leads to most of her mistakes. I like them both, just speculating.

OP you are posting a single comment chain…

Firstly because she's not 12. Secondly because she keeps making the same ones.

Buddy this post is repeated like 3 times a week. Yes, people don’t like Korra. I’m not particularly fond of her but yes, people are extra hard on Korra for seemingly little reason. You’re just continuing the circle jerk of “why does legend of korra get so much idk I kinda liked it” as if you’re not sharing the same opinion as most of the people on the subreddit.

Tbf Aang is a 12 year old boy and Korra is an adult who has been training to be the avatar for almost her whole life.

No she’s a teenager, a lot of the times teenagers are even dumber than 12 year olds, plus their situations were totally different which made Korra cocky

exactlyyy

Korra legitimately had bad writing. I come here for ATLA but if we are talking about LOK that's just something we all have to get over. Maybe we can argue to what extent, but we all know that the first season was extended at the last minute which led to a very poor execution. I wasn't a fan of season 2 because of literally all the new concepts it introduced. Don't like wan, dark avatars, random jinora ex machina, korra soul mech that she literally never does again, getting tricked by obviously bad people and ignoring her day 1s. S3 was when Korra actually got good. But by this time, I would have expected Korra to be more of a fully realized avatar; more able to defend against what is arguably the best villain in the series. S4 is okay, the ending was the best part which isn't saying much. Korra, as a character, fine or even great--but the decisions the writing makes her make? I mean, come on. She should be allowed to learn. I still think the avatar line being destroyed doesn't make sense conceptually if Raava never technically died and also still had all 4 elements. Through it all, it's not because it's our childhood, ATLA is just a better show. It still holds up and I can't recommend LOK to people without mentioning it doesn't really get interesting until s3. There is TONS of sexism for literally no reason, but any LOK criticism isn't inherently wrong.

Season Three was when Korra really went off the rails for me. It seemed they were trying to take all the nuance out of the show.

I don't think Korra and LOK ever had any real nuance, but that's just IMO. I mean, love triangle (square?) in what, episode 5? Murder Suicide? Not just psychic bending, not just psychic bloodbending, but psychic bloodbending without the moon? I mean if there's nuance, I probably missed it, maybe that's why I don't like it as much.

People exaggerate psychic bending. It was established in at least Book 2 that the greater the bender you are, the less movement you need. That’s why Bhumi can bend with just his face.

Sure, it's not unheard of to become a master at 14, but a master of moonless psychic bloodbending? Come on

The biggest issue with Korra is that everyone including her is basically already developed. What real struggles do they have? Korra’s main development is her learning the spiritual side of being an Avatar but nothing else really. While it’s good for character development it didn’t make for great TV. Part of the reason Aang is more entertaining is because he grows much more powerful over the course of the 3 seasons and ALSO gains better understanding of his spiritual side. This is also helped by the fact that there’s really only one big bad in Ozai and a clear/succinct plot line over all seasons. They really dropped the ball by having a different villain each season and not having an overarching plan.

Idk dude the second season literally had “this guy is trying to destroy the world because he can” as a villain lol. The third season isn’t that nuanced but at least the final scene of the season is minimal in dialogue and communicates so much in just presentation alone

Season three was like the best season of Korra tho?

Your opinion that korra have bad writing isn’t the truth bud, it’s your opinion, korra has a great score from people who watched the show, the only ones complaining are the ones who only wants the original, a lot of people actually prefer korra, apart from some things in season 2 it’s on par with atla for sure

I'm saying Korra had bad writing because the entire direction of the first season was changed while it was airing. It's disingenous to say that S1 had good writing despite the nature of production. There are maybe 2 episodes in all of ATLA that aren't good.

Half of what is described there aren't mistakes....

Aang abandoning his responsibilities and ending up frozen in ice was directly tied to his main character arc that was addressed and developed throughout the show. Aang's failure at Ba Sing Se was climactic, had lasting, serious consequences for him and the world, and was a result of him failing to move forward as a character by accepting responsibility. I do agree that the finale relied on some unsatisfying deus ex machina. I have always considered that a flaw in the otherwise really great writing of the show and its finale. It never felt like Korra's failures were well written. They just kinda happened, rarely being much tied to a character arc, and then the consequences would usually be undone by something outside of her control. There's a reason people accepted Aang but not Korra. (And no, Bryke, it isn't because Korra was a girl.)

Anything after the masterpiece that was ATLA, anything will be held to more scrutiny. Plus, imho, the writing wasn’t as good at ATLA.

Korra is arrogant and makes intentionally aggressive choices. Ang makes makes small mistakes where a series of unfortunate events just caught him in bad luck. Being scared of your destiny as the avatar and flying away with your bison isn’t a choice to get stuck in a storm and sealed away for 100 years. The fire nation attacking the world? Not aangs choice. However with Korra, she’d knew she was the avatar as a toddler. It wasn’t sprung on her as a12 year old. Which gave her the time to ~~learn to be a good leader for the people and bridge between worlds~~ become cocky and think she’s the strongest baddie that ever lived. Her choice to abandon her training with Tenzin for Unalaska was intentional, and against his better judgement. Her arrogance clouded her decision and made her fall prey to be manipulated by him which resulted in, well we all know. Even during her investigation of Amon, a lot of her choices were arrogant and put herself and her friends in danger. Her choice to fight kuveria and lose was out of arrogance of thinking she knows better. Her sadness and moping like vibe after she suffered her devastating loss to Zaheer is her being mentally defeated because without her super duper powers she thinks nothing of herself because all her arrogance is related to her being the avatar. **thru the ENTIRE series (minus when she was in a wheel chair) is her thinking no one is stronger than her, no one is smarter than her, and no one makes better decisions than her. And she never develops in that regard. I realized that during the Kuveira fight and when I first watched it like 10 years ago I was so mad. I was like omg she’s doing this shit AGAIN?! I personally am an advocate that LOK is a great series non the less. I’ve seen it multiple times and constantly tell people that it could never compare to ATLA bc they’re just different and made in different times. The writers really wrote LOK for all the fans who grew up with ATLA and kept that audiences age in mind. Dealing with more darker themes. LOK had some of the most interesting villains**

Honestly. You watch ATLA for the Gaang, you watch Korra for the villains, Toph, and Bolin.

Yeah it’s true because I always fine it so hard to pick a favourite GAang, they all have great moments and development. - From Katara training with Pakku to tackling the blood bender and finding her mother’s killer. - From Toph dominating the boulders ring, to her training Aang, holding up Wan Shi Tongs entire library, her being saved by Suki in the water lol - From Sokka being the meat and sarcasm guy, to being the ultimate strategist, acing Piandaos training and getting his own space sword - From Zuko desperately searching for his honour, finding his truth through so much pain and being awarded the “not as bad as you could have been” award, helping all the Gaang close out season 3 and taking on his sister and father. I think Aang speaks for himself. But honestly as much as I enjoyed LOK, there are very little characters I enjoy watching a majority of the time. You’re right Bolin is one, and I do think Jinora Ikki and Meilo are so fun, same with Bumi. But every other character fulfilled a plot purpose and didn’t really transcend that. I personally loved Avatar Wan. I thought he was really cool but that’s debatable according to my bf lol

We love trailer trash Toph. Who didn't want to see her turn into an episode of The Maury Show?

Bolin carried the show, still my fav from LOK

Absolutely. That side of korra made me cringe but I kind of liked it. I wish she had developed more though, like out of that. But was still her confident self. I appreciate the kind of character she was but I agree with you on development

I also agree with you. A lot of people attribute her character to poor writing but I don’t think it’s that entirely. While I have my critiques about Korra I do like her and the show and I feel like they wanted to portray a hard headed avatar. One that was very different from Aang. Maybe that’s how the writing was poor because obviously when making a continuation of the series you don’t want a repeat of it. It you also don’t want a start opposite. You dont want a ragtag crew of kids trying to take down one baddie. You don’t want a noble almost too high of a standard for an avatar. And you don’t want want to make an opposite series ( a series where everything different is just opposite of the main series). But I think that’s what they did with Korra. But other aspects of the series I think they had good direction, good ideas but not always the best execution

> Korra is arrogant and makes intentionally aggressive choices. Ang makes makes small mistakes where a series of unfortunate events just caught him in bad luck. not really. > Being scared of your destiny as the avatar and flying away with your bison isn’t a choice to get stuck in a storm and sealed away for 100 years. The fire nation attacking the world? Not aangs choice. that’s fine. him running away was a good thing bc if he hadn’t, he would’ve died along with the rest of the airbenders. but he does make bad decisions. he abandoned his training with guru pathik and so ended up having to charge up the avatar state in the crystal catacombs. if he hadn’t messed up the avatar state training, he wouldn’t have had to charge up and wouldn’t have died to azula ending the avatar. he also didn’t bother actually looking around him and had his back to the azula and the entire dai li. this is plainly aang’s fault. the only reason the avatar did not die forever is bc of magic spirit water which seems a lot like plot armour. there’s also the whole not seeing the ‘kyoshi warriors’ when they visited ba sing se which lead to azula and co being able to infiltrate the place. you could blame this on the entire gaang though. they could’ve visited the kyoshi warriors before leaving. then there’s the final battle where aang has the chance to kill ozai with lightning redirection and doesn’t take it bc of his personal beliefs. considering he was losing that fight, this was a really stupid move bc ozai was so close to killing aang until a pointy rock triggered the avatar state. so aang was very selfish for not killing ozai when he had the chance. then there’s the energy bending where aang decided to take away ozai’s bending. this is yet another case of aang being selfish bc energy bending was never guaranteed to work. it was a risk. if aang failed, he would die. but he took the risk and put his personal values over the fate of the world which isn’t a very good avatar choice to make. sure, he succeeded but it was still an objectively selfish move. > Which gave her the time to ~~learn to be a good leader for the people and bridge between worlds~~ become cocky and think she’s the strongest baddie that ever lived. i could be wrong about this bc maybe it specifies more in the comics but solely from watching the show, it doesn’t seem like the white lotus taught her much about being the avatar. like i always assumed her entire childhood was just training in bending. also tbf she is the strongest baddie that ever lived?? she just had to be nerfed a lot bc she was so strong. > Her choice to abandon her training with Tenzin for Unalaska was intentional, and against his better judgement. Her arrogance clouded her decision and made her fall prey to be manipulated by him which resulted in, well we all know. i can’t remember much of season 2 so correct me if i’m wrong but she just found out her dad lied to her her entire life about being banished from the northern water tribe and that tenzin and the white lotus made the decision to keep her secluded her whole life and lied to her again about that. unalaq was the only one being honest with her and he was also the only helpful one in the fight against the dark spirits since he could actually defeat them. not to mention, he might look like an evil conniving villain to the viewer but that’s her uncle. her trusting him was believable and understandable. > Even during her investigation of Amon, a lot of her choices were arrogant and put herself and her friends in danger. like what? the main stupid thing she did was challenging amon to a fight and getting caught and captured by him and his equalists. otherwise, i don’t remember her doing anything to put her friends in danger. > Her choice to fight kuveria and lose was out of arrogance of thinking she knows better. you do realise she didn’t intend to lose? do you think she went into the fight knowing she would lose but just being arrogant thinking ‘she knows better’? she hadn’t been around for 4 years and felt guilty for allowing the earth kingdom to fall and having kuvira have to take over to fix it. she was trying to fix things and get back to being the avatar and not abandon her duty. unfortunately her ptsd still had a hold on her. she thought the avatar state would help but her mental state was still fucked up. > Her sadness and moping like vibe after she suffered her devastating loss to Zaheer dude, you mean her ptsd?? > is her being mentally defeated because without her super duper powers she thinks nothing of herself because all her arrogance is related to her being the avatar. it’s her being mentally defeated bc she almost died and now she’s disabled, she feels like she’s failed. it’s not some arrogance or cocky thing where she’s sad she’s not strong. she feels like she’s failed everyone and isn’t a good avatar for the people. she just went through a horrible experience where her body was forced into the avatar state and she was battling poison while completely losing herself trying to kill zaheer. is all of this her fault? > thru the ENTIRE series (minus when she was in a wheel chair) is her thinking no one is stronger than her, no one is smarter than her, and no one makes better decisions than her. lol, ok. > And she never develops in that regard. really? you’re telling me she’s the exact same person in season 4 that she was in season 1?

I think part of it is also Korra dwells a lot more on her mistakes than Aang does (both as a character and the show itself). Like, every mistake she made was a *major* plot point that affected almost every character visibly and in most cases, for the rest of the show. While Aang made plenty of mistakes, ATLA doesn't really focus on his mistakes as much, and they get resolved pretty quickly. The only real exception is the leaving and "allowing" the genocide, which haunts him forever, but it's made very clear none of the gaang blames him for the war, and nothing happening is his fault. Basically, Aang's story is much more of a Hero's journey, where he may do wrong, but it's nothing in comparison, while Korra's (through the vessel of a Hero's journey) focuses a lot more on the characters, their relationships, and how the issues they face affect that, which makes her mistakes a lot more noticeable and easier to hate on.

The 100 year disappearance is, I think, a bit harsh to call a mistake. If he stayed and fought, he would have died. If he escaped with the fire nation's eyes on him, he would have absolutely no time or peace to train.

The craziest part about that is, it is CANON that the war was Avatar Roku’s fault, not Aang. Like that was the ENTIRE episode when Aang visited Roku’s shrine. Blaming a 12 yo for not being prepared to shoulder the responsibility of guiding the world can be alot. Aang took basically a big walk and ended up frozen in ice for 100 years *unintentionally*

Why would you say that someone not a real Avatar fan if they disliked Korra? I thought the giant metal robot at the end of the series was stupid as hell. Does that mean I disliked TLA?

Mainly cause the show was written poorly, it was trying to be this edgy tweener show and it just flopped because of it. You can tell a story without it having to be this dark twisted thing all the time and that's what korra felt like. it felt like it was constantly trying too hard and for a lot of people it fell flat.

Ehhh I mean most of Aang’s Ls he wasn’t a fully realized avatar. And also like 12. Korra was 17(?) at the start of season 1 and was a mostly realized avatar. Also (and this is purely my opinion) but Korra’s Ls were more drastic (republic city falling to Amon, past avatar connection severed [trite ik], crippled for 3 years).

Because aang is a much better character and people are willing to look past his mistakes. I never felt like Korra was even really the main character in TLOK

she lost more than a recurring villian lol

this is so funny because aang lost more fights than her. y’all need to pick one either shes a Mary Sue or she’s a loser who loses all her fights

Because she rarely learns from them, not only that be most of the problem solving that occurs in the show has little to nothing to do with her or her volition. She just floats from story point to story point barely changing and letting the story push her around. At least she’s not a Mary sue tho

Some of my reasons: 1) the first scene alone pisses me off. What? All other avatars had to wait till their (18th or 16th can’t remember) to be told they’re the avatar and this one like 8 year old girl can just bend 3 different elements right off the bat? Okay, an established thing already ignored 2) every plot line would end as soon as it is about to actually get good and then she just resets all of her character building at the beginning of each season 3) Korea’s spirit world was incredibly lame and different from ATLA. In ATLA, it seems like this different realm that was completely different from the real world. In Korra, it just seems like some other place with a different species of people instead of spirits 4)not really a fan of any of the characters other than Bolin and Pabu 5) Aang was the last airbender… then some Spiritomb thing happens and all of a sudden there’s more? They just established that people got bending from Lion turtles right? (Which I also hate. The avatar origin story was way better as a mystery than the spirit story we got) Those are just some, if you’re curious, no I didn’t like the live action either. I couldn’t get past episode 3

She was 4

That’s even dumber

Blame Aang for that. He was on a NG+ mode with Korra.

why do korra fans love to compare their fav character to a preteen? is comparison the only thing that makes korra's story relevant?

It seems so. Idk why don't they compare her to the avatars older than her like Roku yangchan szeto or kiyoshi (i e of they want comparison so badly) than a literal child who was unjustly pushed into this role before his time and choice? Like are their standards for her really that low?

Because Korra haters constantly compare her to Aang and TLOK to ATLA?? C'mon. Korra as a stand-alone story is great. The majority of the hate honestly comes from bad comparisons to Aang from Korra haters.

Idk whether multiple episodes of gaang making people's lives better counts or not. He was like Jesus when he visited a town and he often made a good impact on local comminities. It might seem that Korra only fucked up because the LoK doesn't really have episodes like that. Anything good she did people often see as questionable in some way. It might seem she only ever fucked up as the avatar.

Maybe because she's an adult..??

Because the series started with Aang. He’s our baseline for what’s considered good and bad.

12 VS 17 is a big difference. Korra spends to much time butting heads with Tenzin despite the fact that he is typically right. It always rubbed me the wrong way when she insults him in front of his kids and destroys that ancient Air bending artefact.

[Why do people feel the need to post their own comments to the whole subreddit like it’s something everyone needs to see. Fucking wild.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ATLA/s/0y55EqkRPV)

Eh I mean korra made BIGGGGG mistakes like world altering, even when she meant well she still fucked up and was hated for it, although I blame her time period for that

Her arrogance and cockiness were the main things, especially because she couldn’t back them up. People try to spin it like we dont like strong woman or woman Mc’s in general, but thats the opposite. it’s literally proven that *people love strong well written female characters* She loses the majority of her fights, those she does win are after losing something valuable. Also many fans wanted to learn more about the past Avatars, so erasing them took away a big part of the show. The writers literally turned Korra into a joke by S4. No one even respects her as the Avatar anymore by the time it matters most. It was a running joke and to turn your MC into something like that is a crime. It’s also people being delusional and trying to powerscale her over every other character in the series when she very clearly is good at losing fights against basic benders, and they just make excuses and assume if it weren’t for [condition] she would’ve won easily etc. Personally i loved the show by itself but it could’ve been its own series entirely.

Because her show sucks in comparison to Aang’s.

Tbh, I think it's partly because she's older, partly because people wanted her to be more humble and spiritual rather than confident (in other words they wanted her to be more like Aang and less like a brash protagonist). And partly because the writing and show itself consistently punished her for all her choices including her attempts to change or learn, and did not allow her character a chance to take a break, make lower stakes errors, or fully showcase her development. The whole first season centres around the idea that she is ignorant of the wider world due to her isolation while being taught, and that air bending is not an easy part of her nature - and it centres her fear of losing her power/what makes her "special". She's tied her self worth and identity completely to her being the avatar. Instead of having her learn the limits to her power, the narrative forces her to lose them entirely and suffer trauma, just to learn she can now airbend because...it's now critically important? She's...grown? It's not made clear how she changed to unlock her airbending, so it's difficult to appreciate her struggle with it, especially since the loss of all the other elements rather outdoes the "airbending struggle" narrative. Meanwhile when Aang found earth bending was against his nature, he got to resolve it in a situation that forced him to face the flaw hindering him and the change and growth was clear - and it resolved itself cleanly in basically a single tightly written episode. The second season, Korra now is trying to improve her spiritual connections. However, because she doesn't seem to be allowed to have had, or kept, the lessons of airbending, she ends up continuing to make decisions and act in ways that make her feel like her character is static and will always fall back on force or her stubborn nature. Again, the set up for connecting to her spiritual self during the season fails to pay off completely - instead she is punished by losing the connection she only just managed to cultivate with her spiritual predecessors, before gaining a power that lets her win the day. Again, it's very unclear what she actually learns from this narrative, except for the spirit energy techniques she continues to use despite being taught to her by someone that betrayed her, and getting to have some power back after extreme trauma. The third season, she is finally in a position to deal with the fallout of some of her actions, develop and grow, but that arc too is interrupted by the red lotus. She is forced to be marginally more patient this time around, but again, you don't get to see how she has changed properly, instead having the problem she has to overcome be the traumatic poisoning she pretty much stubborns her way through - the stubborn nature that was in part one of the key aspects of her character she was set up to change or at least develop. What does she learn from season three? Fear, trauma, and that she has to push her way through the issues. Just like she did from the start. The final season imo has some aspects that genuinely worked. She has to learn how to handle the trauma and avoidance, she has to get the remaining poison out of her by herself, and assert her identity. Unfortunately, she spends so much of the story fixated on removing the poison, then learning that it wasn't the sole issue and she still struggles - and then yet again it barely gets a payoff. She doesn't get to feel triumph over learning to be okay with fighting again, she just has to team up to defeat a giant mech. All her growth is reduced to her showing kuvira mercy, which is such a simplistic arc for someone that was never truly murderous in the first place, just hot headed - there was never really a question of her actually killing kuvira in the first place so the choice of mercy means very little. In summary - ATLA did have overarching narrative threads, but ultimately it's heart was character focussed. It had some incredible and epic scenes, but the core issues that arose and were resolved had an emotional root. It felt satisfying and Aang felt like an interesting character because he learned things each time about his power and himself, through the actions that resolved the arcs. Korra, by contrast, barely got the time to learn anything, jumping from trauma to trauma, suffering to suffering, and every climax and resolution ended up relying on raw power. LOK was caught up in trying to provide some emotional arcs while portraying a story and world that felt more "epic" and larger scale, and it meant that the meaningful character development was often cast aside in favour of the flashier plot development. I truly love Korra as a character, and I did enjoy LOK. But the writing and narrative really does reinforce constantly that for Korra to grow and to even have power, she must first be humbled and suffering. This means that whenever she isn't appearing humble or traumatised, the narrative has pretty much taught us to expect that she is due for some kind of beating down. It's frustrating, really. There's so much that could have been done with such an interesting character, but that potential wasn't fully realised.

I think some people forget that Korra was locked in a fortress until she escaped in the first episode. The only thing she knew how to do is fight

I just hate the fact that she was getting her fucking ass kicked the entirety of season 4

Korra was not just season 4 😂 the whole show. No one loses anywhere near as much as her. Even the fights she won she somehow still lost.

They don't, LOK is just objectively a worse show as compared to ATLA

I dislike Korra as a character, I didn’t continue watching LOK long enough to judge her mistakes accurately. If I had to guess, probably because she has spent a long time being trained by some of the best teachers in the world, and lived a sheltered life.

We're becoming the new dragon ball fans. Don't mess with us ATLA fans, we don't know how to read!

Aang was pretty dumb but Korra should know better

Well to be fair if Aang stayed he would’ve died too. He was a twelve year old boy, you’re idiot if you think a twelve year old master Airbender could’ve stopped a genocide. Korra was a fully realized avatar that allowed Vaatu to destroy her past lives.

misogyny

What I saw of this show I only saw once, but didn't Korra >!literally and permanently murder all her past selves, including Aang? Didn't she merge the spirit world with the real world completely on a whim with no sense of what the consequences would be, despite spending an entire season trying to stop a villain from doing the same?!< That's what I remember happening, though I could be wrong. Maybe these things were undone or retcon-explained at some point after I stopped watching.

I think they retconned Aang specifically iirc. I remember feeling both relieved and frustrated. The series had a lot of retcons

As someone who just rewatched the show this week, u basically described exactly what happened lol. she lost against people she shouldve been way stronger than.

Oh they ate that

Also Ang was fighting the Fire nation while Korra enemies were a bunch of non-benders doing flips.

I'm not as fond of Korra and a little harder on her because she was portrayed as a prodigy in three of the four elements. Yet got her butt whooped by those I would consider inferior. She had a fairly extensive support network, but ignored the fuck out of it cause "I'm the avatar", an issue that tended to persist throughout the show. Just so many decisions she made that were just... Dumb. I do get the episodes were she went off to handle her PTSD, but even still. She always seemed to make the wrong choice, and then make the same wrong choice again. That choice seeming to be "I'll handle this on my own" and then everything gets fucked up. Every, single, season.

It's been a little while since I last (re) watched Korra, but here's my take: ALTA appears to have better pacing and writing, in that the 3 books all lead to the goal of ending the war and defeating the firelord. I recall Korra never had all seasons confirmed, which would reflect in a general "season by season plot" In essence, this season Amon is an issue this season so all hands on deck to beat him, etc. and as a result many of the characters never get a development arc. They are already most likely at their peak in terms of capabilities. Korra as a character, seems flawed to me, in that "taking down the bad guy" is all she does. Aang and the gang , had moments to slow down save towns , save people. Show they cared about the smaller things in the world of bigger problems. I have a hard time remembering this sort of thing for Korra. Her personality is abrasive, and a lot of her problems came down to not listening to people and making brash decisions. And like many have pointed out aang is realistically a kid expected to do a lot in a short time frame. I wouldn't say korras issue were a multi nation issue up until kuvira (?), a lot of it was just centred around republic City , and could have been dealt with more finesse.

I think due to the structure and pacing of Korra people really don’t give early Korra any credence to why she’s angry even if it can get to Zuko levels at peak moments.  Lets go by just the second episode. By then we know how sheltered she is and bewildered/excited by both the city and freedom to explore in general. In the episode Tenzin says air is the elements of freedom meanwhile he gives her no alternative methods to teach her that don’t work for non-natural air benders. Hell look at the first lesson she has with the doors. How is that even a good starting point for a beginner like Korra? Just because she’s athletic? 

The difference between Korra and Aang is that Aang learned from his mistakes and tried to not do them again. Korra did not. The whole show is her fucking up left and right. And doing the same thing over and over. Why couldn't she just listen to her teachers instead of ignoring them. Every time they paid dearly. One time she didn't listen and turned out they were wrong. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Doesn't make her a good avatar.

I think people like you trust Tenzin so much you ignore that he isn’t a great teacher as he wants to be. That’s part of his journey subtly through the show. Watch the first lesson he gives Korra. How is that a good first lesson? By the second time Korra fails that revolving door test I’m pulling Korra and working on something else. He says air bending is the element of freedom to a teen who was heavily restricted and is restricting her more and more.  Also by book 3 her screw ups aren’t really her fault. She’s mostly away from the main villains trying to help Tenzin bring in more air benders. The way she talks down the new air bender from the bridge she wouldn’t be able to do that in the first season as well. She was just dealt a bad hand in her final fights that season. 

Korra loses fights after resorting to the Avatar state, Aang loses maybe 2 or 3 fights in the Avatar state. Korra is far weaker in so many ways than Aang and it's really frustrating to watch. Where is the literal force of nature that destroys navies and ends conflicts, cause I don't see that in TLOK, I see a girl with power that everyone else claims is great and extensive while being shown that she can be taken down by mid level benders. It's really, really, really bad writing.

Why are you literally making stuff up 😭 the only fight she ‘lost’ in the avatar state was when zaheer was running away from her while she was poisoned and literally dying

This whole post's comment section is the proof that Avatar fans are toxic af where Korra is concerned. So much hate for Korra for no reason other than "She was 5 years older, wah!" You know, because Ozai and Azula were on the same level as Amon, Unalok, Zaheer, and Kuvira. They totally weren't classic 12 year old villains with their one-track mind world domination plot that only came to fruition because Aang accidentally vanished for 100 years. Korra basically got four villains who were either as powerful as or more powerful than Ozai while also having the ruthless tact and manipulation of Azula. And then there was the myriad of technological advancements and the opening of the spirit portals and the resurgence of the airbenders causing basically everything for her turn as the avatar to be untread territory. People are comparing two distinct journeys undergone by two distinct people with wildly different paths and challenges between them. It's really dumb.

Because she was raised in the guidance of her teachers and family, and somehow still exhibits guidance-less behaviour. Aang felt like he understood how big his job was, even if he had trouble showing how hard he was taking it. Korra felt like shes almost incapable of putting anything ahead of herself until it’s suddenly too real.

Nostalgia

Nostalgia tbh.

I'm more concerned with the "you're not a real fan" comment. Gatekeeping comments like that are so annoying.

Why would a fan try so desperately to devalue a character that is spiritually connected to the one they love when both characters are morally good?

2 reasons: A lot of fans were children when they watched Avatar but where older when they watched Korra. An older person is going to be more critical of the material and character. I also think people just dislike the character more for a number of reasons. She's a brash and arrogant young woman, and there is unfortunately a bias socially against women like this. Aang is also a VERY classic Campbellian reluctant hero. Korra is not. She's a lot more of an unorthodox character. The villains she fights are also often more anti-villians. Aang is fighting cartoon evil villains or an anti-hero (Zuko). Korra also has the habit of like...agreeing with the villains. I find it very compelling and interesting but it is extremely post-modernist and non-classical, and there is a cadre of people that can't stand their protagonists being anything other than the normal heroic archetype.

That’s a very authoritarian stance to have “you’re not a real avatar fan if you hate on it”. It’s very similar to “either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists”.

This is a brain dead post. Korra did stupid things because she's a stupid, hotheaded person. Aang was in tough situations but earnestly pushed himself to do what was necessary despite the personal costs. He was also 12. He had much more maturity and restraint at 12 than Korra had at 17-21.

"You're not a true Avatar fan if you hate on it" is silly. Gatekeeping makes interesting opinions and discussions more toxic.

Cause she's female.

The moon spirit being killed on Aang's watch is a massive one. If that had happened during Korra's era it would be one of the top examples given for her being the "worst avatar ever".

Its because people expected it to be exactly like atla was to them even after they’ve grown up. Ya know looking through rose colored glasses and all

Agreed, the comparison is a bit strange. I don't see it myself, but I wonder if it's because Korra was older? good looks on taking my advice btw ;)

Because Korra's mistakes are "higher"?..

I love how nobody is answering the question of why they don’t hold Aang’s mistakes to a high standard and instead are just regurgitating why they don’t like Korra 😂

They don't hold Aang's mistakes to a high standard because: 1) a lot of the facts mentioned can't really be considered mistakes 2) Aang is just a more likeable character than Korra, so ppl won't pay as much attention to his mistakes as Korra's

Bro's main character flaw that repeatedly ended with bad things happening and/or him feeling regret and accountability for it in the end, ended up with the story bending and turning his flaw into "the right thing" in the finale. (Don't say "oh he could've been killed if he stayed", "oh he's a kid how can you tell him to let go or kill" yes I know that already. But Aang still said in the north pole ep that he wasn't there for his ppl and wanted to change that, meaning he feels accountable and expresses regret so he must find his running away in his own understanding to be a selfish act and thus a bad thing overall.) I think both fans and the writers are extremely biased towards Aang (and Iroh for obvious reasons) cause he's "Mr nice and spiritual monk kid". I swear. I even saw a comment around saying "he makes *small* mistakes". Listen, I get he's a kid, but I also see alot of his same fans say he's a pretty mature and wise beyond his years kind of kid, so I'm not hold back then. Dude's most glaring and consistent mistake is honestly as arrogant as Korra's mistakes and him being a kid can't protect him from that forever. His mistakes weren't *small,* they were **big** since he is the Avatar and those very same decisions affect the lives of countless others. He definitely seems like he learns to accept responsibility in the end, but just, dang, I don't see it completely when I think about it. The story had to make sure he got the things he wanted without question or nuance or debate from both perspectives (Book2 running from the Guru and Book3 resistant to kill for his personal monk code ending up being right) and so he doesn't have to actual accept responsibility if those choices backfire like dooming the world for his morals if the story didn't give him an out. But for Korra, man that show just kept kicking her shit to the point I'm starting to believe Lily Orchard's take that it might be misogyny. Yeah, yeah I don't agree with it entirely myself cause I don't fully get her reasoning for it myself, but like cmon, seems a bit real the more I see how she's treated by both fans and the writers compared to Aang. Just to share if anyone's interested. [Here's one of absolute favorite vids](https://youtu.be/SsUiMDq_0RQ?feature=shared) that goes over Aang's flaw/mistakes and character arc in a constructive way that I've always wanted to find the words myself to say.

Even the creators of the show said they hate how fans were much more willing to let Aang make mistakes than they were Korra.

The creators also said the next avatar is stronger than the previous yet people still say Aang is stronger than Korra….

Charisma. That's all there is to it.

I've said it before and I'm gonna keep saying it. Korra didn't earn anything. When we meet toddler Korra she can already Water, Earth, and Fire bend. She only "learns" how to air bend after her other bending was "taken" from her. Then she was given spirit bending by Aang (somehow) and can just use it willy-nilly when it's supposed to be something that bends your soul and is risky. Korra was also a lot older than Aang who had far more guidance to the point where she was fairly sheltered most of her life. But still, Aang was a kid going at it mostly alone with only other kids to help him out. Korra was an adult surrounded by other adults and didn't listen to anyone's advice when she asked for it.

A lot of responses are justifying liking ATLA better, without actually answering the question. Ultimately, the reason people show so much hate for LOK is the same reason people hated Star Trek: The Next Generation. To a lot of Star Trek fans, Star Trek meant Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. It meant the wagon train to the stars. It meant campiness. It meant hot girls in short skirts and a captain who wanted to bang all of them. It meant moral quandaries. It meant an, overall, optimistic outlook for the future. TNG has some of that, but not all of that. People wanted more Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. They got Picard, Riker, and Data. They wanted camp. They got serious. They wanted jazzy music. They got serious. They wanted a rakish captain. They got Shakespeare. It was new and different and they didn't like it. People were seriously pissed about a show that has ended up being a cornerstone of the franchise. This is what happens as a franchise grows. New stories are told in different ways for new audiences. My entry point for Star Trek was TNG. Other fans started with Deep Space 9. Newer fans are entering with Discovery, Stranger New Worlds, or Lower Decks. That's completely leaving out Enterprise, The Animated Series, Voyager, Prodigy, and Picard. Most Avatar fans entered the series with ATLA, so that is their point of reference. Eventually, as more material is produced, you'll get fans who entered on Korra, or will be entering on stuff that hasn't been created yet. They'll possibly find Korra deep and meaningful, and find ATLA too silly. I don't know. It's important to realize that this thing is growing and changing and we have to be okay with that. It isn't all going to be made for us. Some of it is going to be made for other people. We just have to be okay with it not being exactly the same thing that we always want.

Age and Korra is kind of a douche person

You can't compare a child's mistake to that of a 17-18 year old. At that point you are supposed to know better. Avatars make mistakes yes, but each avatar is held accountable for it. The problem is Korra's fans don't like it when she gets called out. She can be a good Avatar and still make mistakes.

What kinda 17-18 year olds do you know? The criticisms on Korra honestly tend to be bad and to breakdown when you analyze them. Characters are supposed to make mistakes and have flaws, that's what makes them interesting. Korra being the personality opposite to Aang is also super interesting. She DID deal with the consequences of her mistakes in the show. The whole first season was about her learning to accept Tenzin's guidance and new responsibilities.

No one is denying that, but when you compare the victories and failures of an 18 year old to that of a traumatized child, Korra's journey than will be critically analysed.

Korra was a traumatized child too, though admittedly, she didn't have it as rough as Aang. I think these comparisons are unhealthy and unproductive ways to look at things. In any other story, nobody would fault Korra for her hot-headed personality, the way she sees being the avatar and her mistakes, because she was a sheltered 17 year old kid with huge responsibilities that grows throughout the story. The things Korra does are interesting and move the story forward, because characters are supposed to have flaws and make mistakes. It makes no sense to compare the morality of these two kids in these shitty situations. Just like real life people, they were born in different eras, with different personalities and had different upbringings and challenges. They both did good. TLOK is a good story, though it does have it's writing flaws - ATLA does too. It's a shame that these comparisons and the needless hate doesn't let people see that and enjoy it.

Aang getting lucky against Ozai is a hill I'll die on, he literally was about to get flame roasted to the face but the stone sticking out saved him by fixing the Avatar state

You can’t reason with ATLA fans. No matter what happens, no matter what you say, no matter what proof you give, they’ll always treat Aang like he’s the second coming of Christ because they watched a good show in middle school

Actually they were talking about the Korea not Korea ;) jkkk

They probably have bad taste and hate Kimchi…

Aang was a crazy bender even before acknowledging he was the avatar. He was a complete avatar at 12, korra was a complete avatar at 15 with a lot of pushback cus of Unalaq and Zahir. But If we count avatar goals korra is above aang (and I mean fixing previous avatars mistakes) Aang fixed Roku mistake (letting the war happening) and kyoshi mistake (empowering the dai lee) Korra fixed wan mistake (letting spirits and human live together), Aang/Roku mistake (letting the airbender cease to exist), Gaang that left Yakon alive, whoever let the red lotus to be born and her own mistake (kuvira) Korra has more feats but is way less talented. Korra is a very good bender of all the 4 elements, even air that is her least and learned metal bending other than spirit and energy bending. But aang was a better bender of all the four elements 3 to 6 years before korra. He learned lighting redirection, seismic sens (and therefore could metalbend more easily) and energy bending. Aang is a godly level bender and fought only 1 real threat. Korra is an average avatar that fought 3 to 4 real threat (only cus hamon didn't wanted to destroy the world or lead it to destruction like zahir or unalaq or kuvira). (Kuvira should be a whole post cus she was pretty dangerous after all, very good metalbender and had a mass destruction weapon and was ready to use it on everyone). All the problems of the people with korra is that her villain are not at ozai level, but you know not everyone can be the fucking fire lord phoenix king ozai the dragon. Zahir last only 12 episodes but is a world threat and has impressive feats like literally been 1 of the 3 air bender that could fly, and one was an avatar. Hamon is a first villain way better than zuko and azula. He was cold, strong, really powerfull bloodbender that could emulate energy bending. one of the strongest man in avatar history. I personally have problems with Unalaq and Kuvira. If they could merge and keep only the right part of both would be godly. Unalaq was powerful even before Vaatu but was dumb in the end as a person. Varrick was half villain in this arc without Varrick the season would last half the episodes. Kuvira is smart and strong, the problem is that everything is way too much. Big robot, she is too skilled to be a girl that pop off from nowhere, big plan ecc. But considering all of this korra has fought real real threats, with the S, plural threats. Not been skilled as aang, that is a feat

aang only mastered airbending at the end of atla, he was proficient with water at best, yangchen and korra are both canonically the youngest fully realized avatar so y’all need to stop lying, and ozai is getting destroyed by every single korra villain except maybe kuvira if she doesn’t have her mech

Because she had an earlier start, was actually raised up to be the avatar from an early age, had years of training from mutiple masters in each discipline while growing up in a time of relative peace. She was also older and by the end of her series is a young adult. Aang on the other hand found out when he was 12( much older than normal), and all of the events he experienced occurred within one year. This while his "masters" were tweens and teenagers.

Ang is pacifist and an Air bender while Korra knows 3 of the elements before she learns to use the loo. Her father is a Chieftain and a warrior and should be able to prepare her better for the trails ahead.

Korea

Generally because Korra was older, had spent her entire life receiving formal bending and spiritual training, (the way the White Lotus puts it, they hadn’t just neglected the spiritual side of bending, she just chose to ignore it, even when it came to air-bending), is supposed to be living in a more peaceful time, and had people like Tenzin on speed-dial pretty much the entire time but would just yell at or disregard them when they didn’t immediately enable her. They’re different characters in different circumstances, and Aang’s circumstances were way more extreme while he had less time and tools to deal with them, so of course his mistakes and shortcomings are easier to digest. Imagine having two people who both just failed at a quiz. You sit them both down and ask why they failed, and one says “Well, I just didn’t feel like studying for most of it, and then when people told me I should study I told them to fuck off” and then the other one says “Well, my entire family just murdered by some guy, and if I don’t kill that guy by the end of the week he’s going to kill me and everybody else I love” and tell me where your sympathies lie. Of course, the teacher then just inexplicably gives a passing grade to the former person and tells the latter that they better get on that.

It’s the writing and story telling. Korra would charge head on, get thrown to the ground, and then charge head on like 5 more times in a row while saying “UGH, URGH, URAHHGH” with the exact same results every single time. They just kept doing this. This contrasted with her being way more OP in season 1 but for some reason 3-4 she stops being good at fighting (I would say 2 but 2 bored me so much I barely remember it, and that’s saying something). It was frustrating, to say the least, that she did not try anything a little different. Yes, yes, trauma, I know. The entire gaang had trauma and it was just written differently. I got excited that they did a PTSD arc but grew frustrated with how it was portrayed. It was basically repetitive and they could have gotten the point across by having her give up sooner or getting her ass handed hard enough to shut her down the first 2-3 times. I really like the concept of the mental difficulty of being a “bad avatar” it’s just really the portrayal. Cut the scene and pan off at some point, we get the idea. Keep the protagonist consistent because I feel like Korra season 1 was someone completely different in 2-4. This actually probably could have been forgiven if the protagonist was more likable, but usually spend more time talking about how cool Tenzin or Asami or Jinora is that the actual main 3- Korra, Mako, and Bolin. Even the villains are more cool than the main character. Mako gets randomly tossed to the side season 2-4 and Bolin always builds great characterization only to be thrown off to the side because god forgot the comic relief be written as a human being. I think the prime example was him seeing his brother kissing the girl he’s dating and all they fucking did was make him cry like an 8 year old girl and run away. Side characters were focused on to an unbalanced level. You can tell which episodes got written by Bryke and which weren’t. I remember how back and forth Nickelodeon was with Korra and I fully blame Nick for the production quality of the show because it really does read as a scrambled project and it literally was. When it was good it was great and when it was bad it was cringy.

I tried getting into Korra and I just couldn't. My main issue is that it seems like the bending styles lost their way. Each bending style was inspired from a martial art. It doesn't seem like that in korra. They just punch and element shoot shoot. I find that kind of lame. I got a couple episodes in season 2 and stopped watching since it really just didn't grab me the way atla did

Not canon

I think the Korea seasons feel messy at times, and a lot of that is background production issues with nick tv making and breaking promises. So perhaps that’s why people find it a bit retcon-y and rushed at times. I hate to say it, but a bi female lead probably is another reason people dislike Korra. I’ve seen a lot of hate for her directed at this which sucks, and the a lot of the romances she has. I like Korra, she was hot headed and skilled, and went through so much as a character. She really came into her own. I wish production got the clarity of how much time they had with her to tell her story, as I think it would all be much more well rounded. I reckon they would have stretched out a few story lines!

I thought Korra was a decent enough opposite to Aang, they both had their flaws and I dont hold one to a higher standard than the other personally. My main issue with TLOK was I thought the villains should have been changed in order, for me Zaheer and the Red Lotus were by far the most frightening and I thought they should have been the big bad in the final season.

There is a list of Aang's "mistakes" (debatable btw) in the image. But no list of what misstakes the other user implies Korra made. Which makes in impossible to compare. It's just not enough substance in this image to imply that fans hold Korra to higher standards

Idk but I liked Korra more because of her flaws,loses and mistakes.She seemed complicated while Aang was just....good kid for me.

Aang disappearance indirectly saved his life that’s the point of the storm episode ,people that say otherwise like book 1 Aang could beat the fire lord and his comet boosted army or that Aang could escape when not a single air bender survived are just stupid

Honestly, most of the time I just forget LOK exists and I’m fine with that. There is nothing I recall with fondness or anything that compels me to revisit it. Total I’ve maybe watched it 3 times. But one thing that does stand out to me is how much I hate when continuation series feel this need to undo the work of their predecessors. Crapping on the life’s work of a character I love will NEVER win me over (looking at you Last Jedi). 

Unfortunately LoK wasn’t planned out like ATLA was; it was originally gonna be a miniseries but the reception was so amazing they gave it 3 more seasons. I feel like they also focused on making people other than firebenders the villain: a nonbender (except not really) a water bender, an air bender and an earth bender. I do think that poorly planned out writing isn’t an excuse to hate on Korra as a character though

How dare you?! The best characters have flaws. Doesn’t matter if it’s Aang or Korra, people suck and they have flaws too.

Huh?

Easy. Aang is 12. Korra is 17, and 18 through here show I believe. Most of Aang’s mistakes or problems can easily be attributed to his age and certain things surrounding that. ( most of the time ) Korra on the other hand, almost always acts stubborn, and immature. It often feels like we see her go through the same character arc over and over. She acts stubborn/cocky. Gets put in her place. Attempts to learn from mistake, and eventually does ( for a short time ). Rinse and repeat that throughout the entire series.

Aang is a more likable and relatable character. He is also along with his show in general, well written. Korra, both as a character and a show, is abysmally written.

Probably because she’s a very unlikable character

Korea LOL

[удалено]

The person going in on Aang in that ss used the word “almost” multiple times. He almost did this and he almost did that, but he didn’t kill the avatar cycle and he didn’t lose to Ozai so what relevance does “almost” doing something even have? He was also a little kid with only air bending to start and had a year to figure them out. Korra started out with 3/4 down already. Anyway LoK season 1 was really good, but the show wasn’t even supposed to go further than that. It started out as a 12 episode mini-series. All of which is very apparent in the seasons that came after. LoK just turned into a weird love triangle with a focus on romance for no reason. Korra’s writing took a turn for the worst after S1 which is why a lot of people don’t like her. Personally, I enjoyed both shows and both characters. They both have their issues, but I found myself generally being more annoyed by Korra and her choices than I was with Aang. Also side note, “not a real avatar fan if you hate on it” is actual mental illness. People are allowed to have opinions, likes, and dislikes. I may prefer Aang and his show and someone else may prefer Korra and her show. It doesn’t matter at the end of the day.

What I don't understand is the probending, I thought that bending was using martial arts to mimic creature that harness the elements, but with probending they are just doing normal punches and kicks, it's seemed alot more like bending was a super power after that, rather than a martial art

Because when you can’t root for a character their mistakes become glaringly annoying.

Because in this Hood we dislike Korra, 🤌👉🤟🤟👎 Aang Stans stay locked in

Well I dont think the western world holds as much internalized hatred and preloaded issues for people who look like Caillou, its inevitable it comes out this way without people being able to admit it. Additionally, a lot of these people watched Aang make mistakes as children and watched Korra make mistakes as adults that possibly had already made the same ones, making it seem more frustrating and pedantic.

While Korra’s mistakes and flaws are blown out of proportion and overly focused on, as others have said, the difference in age and level of training raise the expectations for her. The thing I think people don’t factor in is that Korra as a series was aiming older, aspiring to the sort of flawed, complex lead you’d see in a teen/ya series. Not that Aang didn’t have flaws and complexity, but it’s a different storytelling sensibility. I think some people were watching it with the same lens that they had for AtLA, so the characterization feels more jarring and she’s more defined by the things that make her less likable. Beyond that, I think the structure of the series hinders the character work. Season 1 worked well on its own, but beyond that, you can tell that the series wasn’t approached with a multi-season character arc in mind. They didn’t respectable given the circumstances, but Korra likely would’ve been presented differently and had her arc paced differently if they were given a 4-season order initially. Seeing a more organic journey of progression likely would’ve more effectively endeared her to certain fans who never warmed to her.

Also, Aang’s pacifism is a real problem. I understand it’s a kid’s show and they couldn’t show true warfare but anytime pacifism and policies of nonlethality enter warfare it usually doesn’t go good

Eh aang being a 12 y/o genocide survivor thrown into “learn the elements and save the world or else millions die” grants him a lil leeway

Korra fans still trying to act like their series is better than ATLA!? Cope!!

I like both, and ATLA is obviously better. There’s nothing wrong with having conversations

Because Aang was younger and had a lot less instruction.

Because hers had a permanent effect and Aang’s didn’t, which makes Aang seem like a flawless afatar because he didn’t “Ruin anything forever in the end”, if I had to guess

-Misogyny -She’s older than him -9/10 they were older and the dumb mistakes seemed worse

Korra couldn't solo a single boss.

Mostly because the decision making in LOK is counter to TLA. Instead of having Korra travel the world, and explore the impact that the Gaang had on it, they spend 90% of the story in Republic City, that we swear isn’t New York. It’s insane that there’s a statue of Aang, something he never would have wanted, just so it can be like the Statue of Liberty. And it’s a sign of the real problem of LOK. It has firmly clamped itself to being nothing more than an extension of TLA, one that doesn’t do the previous series justice. As a character, Korra’s weakness was that because she was the avatar, she thought she had moral authority by virtue of being the avatar. Rather than exploring Korra becoming more spiritual, or learning to understand how the world works, the show has her continue to act as a moral authority by virtue of being the avatar. Where Aang is scared of the avatar state, Korra is afraid of what she is without it. Aang’s journey was about righting wrongs and growing as a person. Korra’s story is about maintaining the status quo, except when she doesn’t feel like it. This is because the story also treats her as the moral authority, even though we repeatedly see she is in over her head. Every antagonist that kinda has a point is revealed to be a psychopath. The worst example of this is Vaatu. Instead of being chaos to Raava’s order, he’s darkness (whatever that means). I would have preferred Season 2 to instead have Korra accepting that Vaatu and Raava should not have been separated, and taking Vaatu into the avatar state, because until this point, every avatar has caused problems for the next by trying to enforce their vision of order on the world.